"Now, Marketstoke had married in Australia. His wife was dead. But he had
a daughter who was about six years of age at the time of her father's
death. Marketstoke confided her to Ashton, with a wish that she should be
sent home to England to be educated. He also handed over to Ashton a
considerable sum of money for this child. Further, he gave him a quantity
of papers, letters, family documents, and so on. He had a purpose. He
left it to Ashton--in whom he evidently had the most absolute
confidence--as to whether this girl's claim to the title and estates
should be set up. And when Ashton had finished telling me all this, I
found that one of his principal reasons in coming to England to settle
down, was the wish to find out how things were with the present holder of
the title: if, he said, he discovered that he was a worthy sort of young
fellow, he, Ashton, should be inclined to let the secret die with him. He
told me that the girl already had some twelve thousand pounds of her own,
and that it was his intention to leave her the whole of his own fortune,
and as she was absolutely ignorant of her real position, he might perhaps
leave her so.
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